Carol Stream residents might pay for ambulance service

May 04, 2010

Carol Stream fire officials are considering charging residents for ambulance service, child car seat checks and other fees to fill a $450,000 budget hole, but one trustee calls for more control over pricey purchases instead.

"We make purchases like this without making educated decisions," said Trustee Jim Panopoulos.

The Fire Protection District spent $47,000 last summer on sensors that can track firefighters if they're trapped in a building, but the technology hasn't been used because the district hasn't determined how to attach the sensors to firefighters' apparatus. Chief Rick Kolomay, who started Jan. 1, after the sensors were purchased, said the devices work, but "there's a technical aspect we need to work out."

The district also recently paid $11,500 for landscaping, about $3,600 more than last year. Kolomay said this pays for services firefighters used to provide, which frees more of their time for training.

Panopoulos criticized those expenditures, saying firefighters can cut grass at no cost and that the sensors should have been studied more thoroughly before they were bought.

He says the fire district should cut spending instead of creating new fees to cover any deficit in the $8.4 million operating budget.

While a fee for residential ambulance service -- imposed by many neighboring fire districts -- would likely be covered by insurance companies, Panopoulos said he's against the proposal because residents already support the district through property taxes.